Court Correspondent :
A Dhaka court yesterday (Tuesday) set August 2 to hold hearing on the charge framing in the Niko graft case filed against BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia and others.
Earlier, Tuesday was fixed for hearing on the charge framing, but Khaleda Zia could not appear in the court because of her illness.
Granting the time plea filed by the defense, Judge Sheikh Hafizur Rahman of the Ninth Special Judge Court of Dhaka adjourned the hearing till August 2.
Other accused in the case are- late AKM Mosharraf Hossain, former State Minister for Energy, Kamal Uddin Siddique, former Principal Secretary to Prime Minister, Khandaker Shahidul Islam, former Acting Energy Secretary, CM Yousuf Hossain, former Senior Assistant Secretary of the Energy and Mineral Resources Department, Meer Moynul Haque, former Senior General Manager of Bapex, Shafiur Rahman, former Secretary of Bapex, Giasuddin Al Mamun, Managing Director of One Group, Selim Bhuiyan, Chairman and Managing Director of International Travel Corporation, and Kashem Sharif, Vice President (South Asia) of Niko Resources Bangladesh Limited.
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) filed the case against five, including Begum Khaleda Zia, with Tejgaon Model Police Station on December 9, 2007, for abusing power in signing a deal with Canadian company Niko for exploring and extracting gas. The ACC on May 5, 2008, submitted the charge-sheet of the case against 11, including Begum Khaleda Zia.
They accused them of incurring a loss of more than Taka 13 thousand crore of state exchequer by the deal.
